Top human resources tips for HR teams going into the new year

The holiday season is coming to an end and a brand-new year is just around the corner. This is the perfect time for HR teams to reflect on the past year and prepare for the future of HR and the new opportunities that 2023 will bring. To inspire you, we have put together a list of essential human resources tips for HR professionals. These tips will help you set the right goals so that you can effectively support employee development and create a nurturing and productive working environment in the year ahead.

Let’s get to it!

Start the new year strong  

Starting the new year strong is a great way to motivate your workforce so that they are ready to take on whatever the new year brings. Your employees are your biggest assets, so setting them off on the right foot is worth the effort. Plus, the more planning you do now, the less stressful the year ahead is likely to be. A clear plan of action will help you focus on the steps you need to take to meet your goals in 2023. 

There are a few things you can do to boost the energy levels of your workforce and get everyone prepared for a successful year:

• Communicate. Hold a “welcome back” meeting with your team on your first day back after the holiday season. Review the challenges you faced over the past year and celebrate your successes. Talk about your objectives for the year ahead so that everyone is motivated and on the same page.
• Conduct check-ins: Arrange an informal catch-up with each of your employees to see if they have any doubts or concerns about this year’s objectives. Offer them support and, above all, keep things positive. 
• Remind your employees that you are there for them. Make sure they understand that you are open to suggestions if they think there is anything that needs improving in terms of the employee experience. This can be a great way to enhance your employer branding strategy in 2023.
• Training: Check in with your HR professionals to see if there is any training that they need so that they are fully prepared to face the challenges that next year might bring. 

Stay organized with an HR compliance calendar 

Ensuring HR compliance is an essential function of all HR teams, which is why we’ve included it in our list of human resources tips. As an HR professional, you need to be aware of all state, federal, and national laws to ensure your company adheres to standards and legal obligations. This includes tax and payroll requirements, bookkeeping, anti-discrimination and harassment laws, and working time regulations, among other compliance requirements.

There are a couple of reasons why it’s important to stay compliant. For one thing, legal compliance protects your business from incurring costly fines and penalties. It also safeguards your reputation and your employer brand. Nobody wants to work for a company with questionable ethics, after all.

But the benefits don’t stop there. 

Compliance also has a positive influence on employee performance, development, and retention. That’s why a comprehensive compliance checklist, used as part of your compliance audit process, is such a valuable tool for HR professionals. It helps you stay compliant, and it facilitates the development of your business. 

Aside from creating a compliance checklist, you also need to prepare a compliance calendar to stay ahead of all important compliance deadlines. A human resources (HR) compliance calendar ensures that your HR department stays on top of important events such as tax deadlines, Affordable Care Act (ACA) compliance, and healthcare deadlines.

At Factorial, we’ve put together a 2023 HR Compliance Calendar to keep you aware of important compliance deadlines and other special dates throughout 2023. The download includes a calendar view of all important dates throughout the year together with federal and regional holidays. Our calendar also includes important links and extra details related to each compliance deadline.

Review current HR policies and processes 

The next point on our list of human resources tips relates to your policies and processes.

January is a great time to review how efficiently your workplace is running. You never know what undetected roadblocks you might discover when you conduct an audit of your internal policies and procedures. Perhaps your process for approving time off is too time-consuming for your HR team, or you’re yet to clearly define your guidelines for remote workers. By starting the year with updated policies and procedures, your employees will understand exactly what’s expected of them. And this will set them up for a positive employee experience in 2023.

Start by running a complete audit of all your policies. Have they all been updated recently? Have you amended them in line with any changes to state or federal laws? Are they clear and easy to understand? Do all employees have access to a handbook with all your policies? Do they reflect your company’s values? Have you undergone any organizational shifts that may have impacted the way your business runs? These are all important questions that you need to consider during your policy audit. 

A great way to ensure your policies are up-to-date and easy to access is by centralizing all your documents with HR software. For example, with Factorial’s all-in-one solution you can upload your policy template to the employee portal to create all your policies in one place. You can then create, distribute, and update your policies as often as you need. And the best part is that the employee portal makes it easy for your employees to access up-to-date policies whenever they need to.

Track DEI data  

Diversity, equity, and inclusion have been hot topics in 2022. And this trend is predicted to continue growing in 2023. If you don’t yet have a DEI policy in place, then now is the time to start working on one. 

If you’re not yet familiar with the concept, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is a strategic approach that enables organizations to create a more diverse and inclusive workforce. The aim is to create a working environment that benefits all employees, regardless of gender, ethnic background, socioeconomic background, religion, or mental and/or physical ability. 

Aside from the fact that, by law, you have a duty to protect your employees from discrimination in the workplace, there are also a number of organizational benefits to creating a more diverse workforce. For one thing, the right practices can help you build a positive company culture. And this, in turn, can boost your reputation and employer brand and help you attract and retain top talent.

The best way to promote DEI in the workplace is by introducing initiatives such as inclusive hiring practices and employee resource groups. However, it’s equally important to track DEI data to measure the impact of these initiatives. Moreover, monitoring the right metrics will keep your leaders accountable and help to drive progress.

A DEI dashboard is a centralized interface where you can monitor the progress of all your DEI metrics. The dashboard gives you a visual representation of the impact that your DEI practices are having on your business KPIs. This might include turnover and employee satisfaction, among other areas. Tracking the right DEI data in this way can help you create a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization in 2023. 

Prioritize employee feedback 

The next point on our list of human resources tips relates to employee feedback.

Employee feedback should be a core foundation of your employee development strategy. Unless you maintain a constant dialogue with your employees and both give and receive employee feedback, it will be very difficult to identify potential problem areas in your organization. It’s also the only way that your employees are going to understand what they need to work on in order to improve their performance.

There are a few ways you can share employee feedback. The first method involves holding regular performance reviews. Performance reviews help you align the performance of your staff with your strategic objectives. They are also an effective tool for identifying potential performance gaps before they have an impact on your company’s overall productivity. Plus, the right approach helps you keep your employees motivated, fulfilled, and valued. It gives them a clear sense of direction and helps them develop professionally. 

It’s equally important to collect feedback from your employees to see how they feel about their development and their place in the company. You can do this during their performance review, but you can also collect a wealth of valuable feedback by sharing regular employee engagement surveys.

For example, with Factorial’s solution, you can manage every aspect of employee feedback at your company:

• Create surveys from a range of ready-to-use templates.
• Share your surveys with your employees straight from the platform. 
• Automate your performance review processes.
• Access feedback directly through the platform.
• Use our HR reports feature to analyze your survey feedback.
• Generate customizable and scalable reports straight from your own fully customizable HR dashboard.

Review and update compensation, perks and benefits packages 

The next on our list of human resources tips relates to compensation.

Do you know how competitive your salaries are? Have you checked out the industry standard for each role in your company lately? Chances are, you may need to update your compensation and benefits packages in order to stand out as a competitive business in 2023.

Of all the human resources tips we are discussing, this is probably the initiative that’s going to cost you the most. However, the value you will get in return is much higher. We are living in competitive times and the only way to attract and retain top talent is by securing your position as a desirable employer that offers an attractive employee value proposition. And this means offering a fair wage and appealing perks and benefits. 

Aside from helping you recruit and retain top talent, an effective compensation, and benefits strategy:

• Drives company culture and employee engagement.
• Sets your position in the market.
• Boosts morale and helps your employees feel valued and appreciated as an important part of the company.
• Incentivizes your employees to give their best in terms of performance and productivity.
• Forms an integral part of your employer brand and reputation.

Start the year by getting your HR team to review your compensation strategy. Do equal roles receive equal pay? When was the last time you offered your employees a pay rise? The only way to retain the talent you need to grow your business is by paying a respectable salary. What’s more, in order to stay relevant as an employer in a competitive market, you also need to offer additional benefits such as healthcare, wellness programs, and retirement plans. 

Do you offer perks like these to your employees? 

Check in on your company culture 

Company culture is one of the first things candidates look at before they decide whether or not to accept a job offer. The culture you develop in your organization can therefore have a direct impact on the quality of staff that you are able to attract and recruit. 

If you develop a reputation for having a toxic culture, it will keep potential talent away from your business. In contrast, if you develop a positive and motivating culture, quality talent will flock to your organization. What’s more, studies have shown that younger generations value company culture so much that they would be willing to accept a lower salary in exchange for a nurturing working environment that emphasizes meaning and purpose.

The first step in creating and driving a desirable company culture is working out what your purpose and values as an organization are for the next year. Ask yourself questions like “Where are we going?”, “What do we believe in?”, and “Why do we exist?”. The next step is communicating your purpose and values to each member of your company. You also need to make sure all your policies reflect what you claim to stand for.

Other effective strategies for improving your company culture include:

• Encouraging collaboration and communication.
• Fostering a sense of trust and transparency.
• Promoting diversity and inclusion.
• Ensuring your employees feel safe and supported.
• Implementing initiatives to empower your employees.

When was the last time you had a good look at your company culture? If it’s been a while, January is the perfect time to review it with fresh eyes. That way, you can start the year with a positive attitude at every level of your company.

Improve employee engagement 

The final suggestion on our list of human resources tips for 2023 relates to employee engagement.

Employee engagement is an essential HR metric used to determine how engaged and satisfied your workforce is. It’s the emotional connection your employees feel towards your organization and their jobs. In other words, it’s about how your workforce feels about the employee experience that you offer – how enthusiastic and dedicated they are.

Going into 2023, HR teams from all industries need to work on new strategies to improve employee engagement. Why is this so important? Because an engaged workforce shows up earlier, works harder, and is more invested in helping your business grow. Engaged employees take pride in their work and they have a genuine desire to do their best.

So, how can you improve employee engagement?

The first step is identifying what your current engagement levels are. You can do this by sharing an employee engagement survey with your employees. This will help you gather valuable feedback about what you need to change to improve your employee experience.

Another great strategy is sharing an Employee Net Promoter (ENP) survey. This is a survey that helps you calculate how satisfied your workforce is. Essentially, whether or not your employees would recommend your company as a great place to work. 

At Factorial, we have recently launched our new eNPS app which you can use to collect valuable engagement data from your teams. You can use the eNPS app to create your employee satisfaction survey and share it with your workforce. You can then analyze your results directly through Factorial’s platform. This provides you with valuable insights so that you can improve your employee engagement rate in 2023.

Happy New Year!

We hope that these human resources tips have inspired you to embrace all the opportunities that 2023 will bring. Remember, if you plan ahead, set clear goals for the future, and nurture a productive and motivated workforce, then you can achieve anything you set your mind to as a business.

Happy New Year from us all at Factorial!!